Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) Upgraded at Lifesci Capital

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) was upgraded by analysts at Lifesci Capital to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on LQDA. Raymond James upgraded shares of Liquidia from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. HC Wainwright lowered their target price on shares of Liquidia from $32.00 to $29.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Liquidia in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Liquidia in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Liquidia from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.00.

Liquidia Stock Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ:LQDA opened at $10.09 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.28. The company has a market cap of $771.02 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.47 and a beta of 0.22. Liquidia has a 52 week low of $5.71 and a 52 week high of $16.99.

Liquidia (NASDAQ:LQDA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.37) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.35) by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.92 million. Liquidia had a negative return on equity of 183.57% and a negative net margin of 755.46%. On average, analysts expect that Liquidia will post -1.71 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Liquidia

In other Liquidia news, CFO Michael Kaseta sold 3,906 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.53, for a total transaction of $48,942.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 312,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,914,234.17. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Michael Kaseta sold 3,906 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.53, for a total value of $48,942.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 312,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,914,234.17. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Roger Jeffs sold 8,053 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.53, for a total transaction of $100,904.09. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 818,932 shares in the company, valued at $10,261,217.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,422 shares of company stock worth $256,998 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 31.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Liquidia

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Liquidia in the third quarter worth $210,000. Whitcomb & Hess Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Liquidia by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Whitcomb & Hess Inc. now owns 11,599 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074 shares in the last quarter. Bluefin Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Liquidia in the second quarter valued at about $277,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Liquidia by 25.2% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 22,706 shares of the company’s stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 4,572 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its position in Liquidia by 53.4% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 82,272 shares of the company’s stock worth $987,000 after buying an additional 28,638 shares during the period. 64.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Liquidia

Liquidia Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company, develops, manufactures, and commercializes various products for unmet patient needs in the United States. Its lead product candidates include YUTREPIA, an inhaled dry powder formulation of treprostinil for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and pulmonary hypertension associated with interstitial lung disease (PH-ILD).